Cruise Ship Passenger Seriously Injured After Falling Down Stairs

A cruise ship passenger has been airlifted after falling down stairs and getting seriously injured.

We don’t usually post about cruise ship emergency airlifts but in this case, the injury was related to the ship itself and can hopefully remind us to be more careful on our next cruise vacation when using the many stairs onboard. A 68-year-old man fell down some stairs on Tuesday while onboard Explorer of the Seas which is operated by Royal Caribbean.

The man seriously injured his ribs and more which needed urgent medical attention. The large vessel was in the vicinity of Kake, Alaska at the time and the U.S. Coast Guard needed to launch an airlift operation which is also known as a medevac. A Jayhawk helicopter was sent out and the cruise ship passenger was safely hoisted up and then taken to a medical facility on land in Sitka.

Petty Officer 2nd Class John Parker, watchstander at Coast Guard Sector Juneau, said:

“In a situation like this, our main priority is to get assets on scene as soon as possible to ensure the injured receive the treatment they need.” “The swift action of the aircrew along with the expertise of the Explorer of the Seas crew allowed the man to be quickly transferred to higher medical care.”

Explorer of the Seas is 137,000 gross ton vessel and can carry over 3,200 guests at double occupancy. The ship is on a week-long Alaska voyage which departed its homeport in Seattle on July 7 and scheduled to arrive back on July 14.

Stay safe cruisers and please be careful when going down the stairs onboard. Always hold on to the railings and try to avoid the staircases when the ship is in rough sea conditions. We hope the man makes a full recovery and manages to take another cruise with the cruise line in the future.